Meanwhile, across eChai
offshore gaming & casinos
India's only listed gaming+hospitality company and operator of the Goa offshore-casino industry — holds 3 of 6 offshore licences (Deltin Royale, Deltin Jaqk, Kings Casino on the Mandovi) plus land-based casi...
historic backbone (restarting 2026)
Mining was once ~20% of Goa's GDP with 25%+ of the population dependent on it; at its 2009-10 peak Goa exported up to ~50 Mt/yr of low-grade ore (mostly to China). Banned since 2012 over illegal-mining findi...
Verna / Kundaim / Colvale cluster
Goa is a major pharma-manufacturing hub — ~40+ formulation units with combined turnover ~Rs 10,000 cr, ~90% of output exported (GPMA). Anchor plants: Cipla (Verna & Kundaim), Zydus Lifesciences (Kundaim + Ve...
Goa's anchor economy
Goa's largest sector: directly ~16.43% of state GDP and 40-45% of direct+indirect employment. 2025 saw ~72.96 lakh domestic and ~3.36 lakh international arrivals (international up ~29% YoY). Now repositionin...
Goa's first (and only) unicorn — the state's flagship startup. Founded 2014; registered office and manufacturing at Verna. Maker of Truenat, a portable battery-operated point-of-care RT-PCR platform that tes...
Piyush Goel & Gurpreet Singh
Founded 2012, one of Goa's oldest funded SaaS firms. Cloud-based omnichannel e-commerce order/inventory management letting brands sell across Amazon, Flipkart etc. from one dashboard; clients have included L...
Gourav Jaiswal
Founded 2015. Digital-lending / fintech platform with proprietary credit-scoring; powered point-of-sale and consumer lending flows. Bharti Airtel acquired a strategic stake (2017) — a notable Goa fintech exi...
Kanan Tandi & Fasih
Founded 2020. AI platform that reads emotions and micro-expressions to generate analytics reports on personality, aptitude and genuine interest, with applications in hiring/HR and healthcare. Early-stage.
Raghav Chaudhry
AI startup whose founder relocated the company from Uttar Pradesh to Goa; showcased at the inaugural Goa Shackathon (Baga Beach, May 2026). Early-stage and emblematic of the 2024-26 relocation wave rather th...
Anand Tarcar & Surendra Prajapati
Founded 2018. Local food-ordering and delivery service combining restaurant partners with homemade-meal options — a homegrown foodtech play in a market dominated by national aggregators.
Vaibhav Chhabra
Community makerspace and hardware/innovation hub that relocated from expensive Mumbai to Goa during the 2020 lockdowns, now housed in a 100-year-old Portuguese mansion in Moira village. The canonical example...
Sanket Shendure
Founded 2016. B2B fintech platform enabling retailers to offer mobile recharge, bill payments and domestic money transfer through a single app. Early-stage.
A local angel investment network created to channel early-stage capital to Goa-based startups, provide a showcase platform to investors, and organise investor events. It is anchored by prominent Goan industry leaders (e.g., Shrinivas Dem...
South-Goa incubator supporting early-stage startups with mentoring, funding links and workspace; serves as chapter base/director for Startup Grind Goa. A key institutional host for founder events outside Panaji.
One of Goa's flagship incubators, supported by the Department of Science & Technology (DST, Govt of India) and hosted on a 25,000 sq ft Don Bosco campus in Fatorda. FiiRE offers structured incubation, co-working, prototyping/design labs ...
A not-for-profit (Section 25) Technology Business Incubator established in 2012, run out of the Agnel Technical Education Complex in Verna with a second centre in Assagao (North Goa). CIBA provides incubation, mentoring, networking and s...
An Atal Innovation Mission (NITI Aayog) incubator hosted at the Goa Institute of Management campus in Sanquelim, inaugurated in February 2021. Sector- and stage-agnostic and open to startups nationwide, it offers co-working, mentoring, i...
The BITS Goa Innovation, Incubation & Entrepreneurship Society (BGIIES), registered in February 2020, is the incubation vehicle at BITS Pilani's K.K. Birla Goa Campus in Zuarinagar. It currently operates the BITS BIRAC BioNEST incubator,...
NIT Goa hosts an MHRD/DST-funded startup centre (inaugurated 2016) that provides modest institutional funding to student and research-led ventures, typically a minimum of Rs 2.5 lakh/year scalable on performance. It also runs national in...
A state-run, mentor-driven accelerator launched by the Minister for IT, Electronics & Communications under the Startup & IT Promotion Cell. It supports a curated cohort of ~30 startups (25 Goa-registered plus 5 operating in Goa without l...
The nodal state agency for startups, operating under the Department of Information Technology, Electronics & Communications (DITE&C). It administers startup certification, incentive disbursement and ecosystem tie-ups under the Goa Startu...
The parent department shaping Goa's IT ecosystem, ease-of-doing-business processes, and electronics/IT unit incentives. DITE&C authored the Goa Startup Policy 2025 and runs the Empowered Committee that reviews and approves startup incent...
A government-backed innovation hub and ~78-seat coworking space run by Goa's Economic Development Corporation (EDC). It blends managed workspace with early-stage startup incubation, offering access to mentors, advisors and funding pathwa...
The Goa hub of the national 91springboard coworking chain, located in Santa Inez, Panaji (near Taj Vivanta, a short walk from the beach). It offers flexi/fixed desks, private offices and team rooms with community programming, partner per...
A digital-nomad-focused coworking-plus-coliving community founded in 2019, with properties across Assagao and Anjuna in North Goa (and now Dharamkot, HP). It pairs one of Goa's fastest coworking WiFi setups (>300 Mbps) with dorms-to-apar...
A boutique coworking café started in 2019, set in an ~80-year-old Portuguese heritage villa steps from Anjuna beach. It combines a working environment with a wellness ethos, dine-in café, dual-ISP internet and 4–6 hours of power backup, ...
A no-frills, infrastructure-first coworking space in Margao serving South Goa's freelancers, remote workers and small startups. It offers hot desks, private cabins and meeting rooms on flexible plans, filling a gap in a region with fewer...
An independent, greenery-set coworking space in Porvorim, offering balconies with scenic views, high-speed internet, lounge and terrace areas, and a pet-friendly policy. It targets remote workers and small teams wanting a quieter alterna...
eChai's Startup Collaboration Project gave promising Goa founders a stage to present their ventures, get early feedback and find collaborators. The session included a blockchain masterclass with Jason Fernandes (FUNL) and Pandurang Kamat...
Part of eChai's flagship Startup Hustle Series run across 20 Indian cities on the same day. Five Goa founders shared their hustle stories across Product, Team, Sales & Marketing, Fundraising and Scaling — 10–12 min each — followed by a 4...
eChai Goa, the Goa Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GCCI) and 91springboard Goa hosted a session on building winning startup teams and company culture — a 90-min founder panel plus a 30-min open segment to meet potential co-founders and t...
Grassroots initiative to sprout tech companies from Goan soil, connecting entrepreneurs with talent, investors and co-founders. Runs roughly monthly meetups for tech people in and from Goa, and increasingly bridges the local-founder and ...
TiE Global officially launched its TiE Panjim chapter in February 2026 — a major milestone giving Goa its own formal chapter of the global entrepreneur network (mentorship, funding, TiECon-style events). Brand-new and building momentum; ...
Local chapter of the global Startup Grind community (600+ chapters), hosting monthly fireside chats and workshops to teach, inspire and connect entrepreneurs. Chapter directed via FiiRE Goa. Recent sessions include "How to Validate Your ...
Goa node of Headstart, India's largest early-stage startup community. Runs episodic programming — e.g. "WeWin 2025" for women entrepreneurs at WE Club (22 Mar 2025) — and partners with AIC-GIM on curated introductions. eChai historically...
Invite-style networking community "created by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs" to connect visionary leaders, foster partnerships and share growth insights. Active on Meetup as one of Goa's founder-networking groups.
State startup mission running the Goa Startup Policy, Goa Startup Accelerator Program 2025, Goa Open Innovation Challenge 2025 (Tourism, Waste, Agri themes), National Startup Day recognitions, and a digital-nomad/creative-hub push. The g...
CEL is BITS Goa's student entrepreneurship body — talks, workshops, hackathons, ideathons and B-plan competitions, with on-campus workspace, legal/financial support and industry connects. BGIIES (est. Feb 2020) is the campus incubation s...
Tea Trunk
India's first certified tea sommelier and founder-CEO of Tea Trunk, a digital-first premium gourmet tea brand launched in 2013. Bootstrapped to profitability from Goa — a state where startups don't conventio...
WebN / GoWomaniya (women's networks)
Founder of WebN, a networking platform for women entrepreneurs in Goa — ~110 members across four chapters (~70% relocated 'settlers'), with combined member turnover of ~₹15 crore. Also founded GoWomaniya (20...
Asier Solutions
Goa-born-and-raised former engineering-college teacher who founded Asier Solutions, building robotic kits and STEM-learning products. Grew from 3 to 11 product kits in three years while managing an all-male ...
Blurb
Mumbai-origin founder of Blurb, a digital-marketing agency serving Goan restaurants and hotels, run from Parra in the North Goa belt. Registered as a state startup and drew salary-reimbursement incentives — ...
Institutional women-founder networks active in Goa. WICCI (Women's Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry) runs a Goa presence (within its Western Region) promoting women's entrepreneurship via government/ins...
Goa's capital and its administrative and commercial core. Patto Plaza, the EDC business district beside the Ourem creek, holds corporate offices, banks and IT firms, and the state's startup machinery sits a short distance away at the IT Hub in Altinho, where the Startup and IT Promotion Cell works. It is the default business address for Goa registered ventures, and 91springboard on 18th June Road in Santa Inez is the best known coworking space in the city.
5 companies 6 coworking
Strong in Hospitality, mobility
The business and residential belt just across the Mandovi from Panaji, and the fastest growing part of the capital region. Coworking spaces, digital marketing agencies and consultancies cluster here, and subsidised desks are offered under state schemes alongside Panaji and Margao.
1 company 1 coworking
Strong in E-commerce, SaaS
The villages in Bardez where relocated founders, remote teams, creators and digital nomads concentrate. NomadGao runs coliving and coworking out of Assagao and Anjuna, and Clay Coworking Café sits in an eighty year old Portuguese villa near Anjuna beach. Worth knowing that this is a talent and lifestyle magnet more than a registration base, since many people living here run companies incorporated elsewhere.
2 companies 4 coworking
Strong in Community, hospitality-tech
Answers about the Panaji startup scene
What does the startup ecosystem in Panaji look like?
Small, and shaped almost entirely by what Goa sells. Travel and hospitality, SaaS and mobility lead, with a pharma and medtech base at Verna underneath them. Goa also has an unusually high share of women led companies, with state data cited in the press putting it at around a third of registered startups. The companies list above shows who is building what, filterable by vertical.
What is Goa's economy built on beyond tourism?
Pharma manufacturing and, historically, mining. The Verna, Kundaim and Colvale estates hold around 40 formulation units with a combined turnover near Rs 10,000 crore and roughly 90 percent of output exported, though the marquee names running those plants are headquartered outside the state. Offshore casinos on the Mandovi are a genuinely Goa specific industry. Iron ore mining was once close to a fifth of state GDP and has been under a ban since 2012.
Who are the best known startups from Goa?
Molbio Diagnostics at Verna is the state's flagship and India's first medtech unicorn, valued at about $1.6 billion in 2022 on the back of Truenat, its portable point of care PCR platform. Spintly, which builds wireless access control for buildings, raised an $8 million Series A led by Accel. Browntape in Porvorim, Vacation Labs, HandyTrain and TempoGo are the older SaaS names, GoaMiles is the state backed taxi app, and Letcetra Agritech in Mapusa is the agritech story people cite.
Which incubators and coworking spaces are in and around Panaji?
FiiRE at Don Bosco College of Engineering in Fatorda has supported more than 140 startups and leans towards tourism technology. CIBA has run incubation from the Agnel complex at Verna since 2012, with a second centre in Assagao. AIC-GIM at the Goa Institute of Management in Sanquelim is the state's Atal Incubation Centre, and BGIIES runs the BioNEST facility at BITS Goa. In the capital itself, IGNITE is the EDC innovation hub with around 78 seats, and 91springboard is at Santa Inez.
Is Goa a workable base for a remote or relocated founder?
It is the thing Goa is genuinely known for now. The coworking and coliving layer across Assagao, Anjuna, Panaji, Porvorim and Margao is denser than in most Indian states, with NomadGao, Clay Coworking Café, 91springboard, Sky Villa in Porvorim and The Coworking Space Goa in Margao among the fixtures, and subsidised desks available under state schemes. Be clear eyed about one thing, though. A lot of founders living in the coastal belt keep their companies registered in Bengaluru, Delhi or Mumbai, so living here and building here are still two different decisions.
Are there investors and VCs in Panaji?
The local capital layer is thin. The Goa Angel Network is the main home grown vehicle, backed by established Goan business families and weighted towards women led and MSME ventures. Most institutional money still comes from outside the state, and the state itself is the other early source, with the Goa Startup Policy 2025 carrying 12 schemes including a seed capital grant of up to Rs 10 lakh at MVP stage. The investors section below lists what is active locally.
Where do founders network in Panaji?
Startup Goa has run roughly monthly meetups for years and is the longest standing grassroots group. TiE launched its Panjim chapter in February 2026, Startup Grind Goa runs monthly sessions directed from FiiRE, and the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry convenes the older business side from Panaji. WebN and GoWomaniya are the women founder networks, and the workation belt has its own circuit through Digital Nomads Goa and the founder retreats that now book South Goa resorts. The communities section below lists them.
Does eChai run events in Panaji?
Not at the moment. eChai Goa ran events in Panaji between 2017 and 2019, hosted at 91springboard on 18th June Road with 91springboard, FUNL, the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Startup Goa, and the chapter has been quiet since. The events section shows anything upcoming, and if you would like to help start it up again, get in touch.
Want to help restart eChai Panaji?
eChai's Goa chapter ran between 2017 and 2019, out of 91springboard in Panaji, and has been quiet since. If you are a founder or community builder who wants to convene free, open meetups here again, get in touch. No membership, no fee.
Get in touch
